A leading American cannabis company has released its financial results for the last quarter of 2021, ending on December 31.
Chicago, Illinois-based Cresco Labs revealed the results on Wednesday as per the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP).
Company Growth
Financial highlights for the 2021 fiscal year showed a record $822 million in revenue, gross profit of $430 million, and a record adjusted EBITDA1 (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $194 million.
According to Cresco Labs, it ended the year with $224 million in cash on hand.
Financial highlights in the fourth quarter showed $218 in revenue, adjusted EBITDA1 of $57 million, and $101 million in wholesale revenue.
Cresco Labs says retail revenue increased to $117 million, same-store sales increased 28 percent year-over-year, and revenue grew six percent sequentially (excluding California).
The company also reported a record cash flow from operations of $38 million.
According to Cresco Labs, it maintained its position as the top seller of branded cannabis products in the United States with a leading share in flower, concentrates, and vape categories.
Cresco Labs CEO Charlie Bachtell says his company has experienced a year of growth and margin expansion.
“We generated $822 million in annual revenue, representing 73% annual growth,” says Bachtell. “Adjusted EBITDA1 more than tripled as the investments we’ve made in the business start to bear fruit. We ended the year with 46 retail stores, more than double where we were at the end of last year.”
Business is Booming
Bachtell says Cresco Labs has grown from 2,300 employees to approximately 3,500 while growing organically and integrating five acquisitions.
According to Cresco Labs, its current assets were $422 million as of December 31, 2021, including cash and cash equivalents of $224 million.
Cresco Labs reported working capital of $133 million and senior secured term loan debt, net of discount, and issuance costs of $377 million.
The company says its total shares on a fully converted basis were 435,123,721 on December 31, 2021.
In addition to record revenue and growth for Cresco Labs in 2021, the company acquired Cure Pennsylvania and Laurel Harvest Labs LLC.
The company also announced an agreement to acquire Columbia Care in an all-stock transaction.
Bachtell says there was market slowing in the fourth quarter, and Cresco was not immune.
“The good news is our plan is working—consumers love our brands, we maintained our leadership as the No. 1 wholesaler of branded cannabis, and we were the most productive retailer in the industry,” says Bachtell. “We competed very well, gaining or maintaining share in seven of our 10 states. We remain focused on driving growth for our shareholders through optimizing operations to drive margins and market share and by opening up new markets in which to sell our leading brands.”
With many more growth initiatives ahead, Bachtell says 2022 is set to be another record year for Cresco Labs.
A Focus on Community Care
On December 8, Cresco Labs won the Silver Social Justice Film & Video Documentary award for “The Sentence of Michael Thompson” at the Clio Cannabis Awards.
According to Cresco Labs, the film focuses on helping people understand how much of an impact injustice has had on the lives of people negatively impacted by the drug war.
Cresco Labs also launched the Illinois Cannabis Education Center through its SEED initiative to show its commitment to providing education and workforce development opportunities to communities affected by cannabis criminalization.
